Inside Pappas Bros. and The Richelieu

Let’s go inside two businesses that operated in the early 20th century in Houston.

The first photo is inside Pappas Brothers Confectionery, 501 Main at Prairie. Operated by Gus and Efstrateos Pappas, one could find ice cream, candy and various beverages here starting in about 1915 or so for a few years.

Surprisingly — for Houston — the building that was home to Pappas Brothers still stands. The same building also housed the Isis Theatre at 1012 Prairie. It opened in 1912, according to David Welling’s “Cinema Houston.” You can see a photo of the building’s exterior back then in his book.

As best as I can tell, there is no connection between the Pappas brothers here and the Pappas family behind the chain of restaurants in Houston today.

In the next set of photos is the Richelieu, a restaurant operated by Herman Hirsch at 1010-1012 Congress beginning around 1909.

It didn’t exist for too long because by 1915, city directories show the building housed Levy Brothers Dry Goods Co. The building, which sat between the Pillot Building and the Sweeney, Coombs and Fredericks building, has since been demolished.